I have been a Praying Mantis fan since I first heard "Captured City" on Metal for Muthas. Time Tells No Lies has always been on of my favourite albums and I was overjoyed when I first discovered it was out on CD. I didn't know what had happened after the first album until in about 1994 I discovered "A Cry For The New World". I was worried about getting it as I thought it had to be a disappointment but I was wrong. I loved it and have followed the band and maintained this website ever since.

18 comments on “Nowhere To Hide”

Well, I’ve had it for 5 days now and I’ve listened to it about twenty times,
so I’d say I can judge it fairly now.
After Forever in Time (probably my favourite album of all times, by any
band) I didn’t think their new one would be as good. Not to worry, there’s
no shame in not being able to reach perfection twice.

How was I to know these guys could do it?

Nowhere to Hide, Future of the World and S.O.S. are definitely among the
best songs they’ve ever done, but there are absolutely no weak songs on the
album. Again, the lyrics are wonderful and meaningful as well – something
lacking in a most of the rock scene. Mantis must be the only band in the
world to make two albums in a row without any filler songs. Now, if only
more people knew about the band…

Jon, if you contact the guys, tell them they’ve outdone themselves. Again.
This is an absolute masterpiece…

Most probably THE album of 2000. Awesome, 1st class Melodic Rock. The best
PRAYING MANTIS ever did. Fantastic leadvocals by Tony O’Hara. Contains touches of
a more AORish first BALANCE OF POWER, some classic AXE with awesome hooklines and
melodies. A must ! The first 100% on rocktracks !

Ah, Praying Mantis, one of a multitude of bands which heralded in the NWOBHM
back in the late 70’s/early 80’s . The difference between Mantis and similar
bands of that era is almost every other band had a brief flirtation with fame,
or even some degree of success, a defining album, providing a vocalist or guitarist
for some bigger act or perhaps a top ten single. It has taken Praying Mantis
nigh on twenty years to finally get the attention they deserve In their homeland,
with their current release Nowhere to Hide. Musically, Mantis have changed quite
a bit over the years from their initial dabbling in metal to the Immaculately
refined sound of their new CD. The basis of the band is still brothers Chris
(bass) and Tino Troy (guitar, keys) although this time round they have created
a record by finally recording successive albums with the same line up. Vocals
are handled by the excellent Tony O’Hora, whom some will remember sang backing
vocals on the first two Balance Of Power albums as well as his own solo project
Horakane which got a Japanese release last year. The line up is rounded out
by guitarist Denis Stratton (ex Iron Maiden) and drummer Bruce Bisland. The
opener, which is the title track, crashes In on a crescendo of keyboards and
guitars before Tony O’Hora delivers the opening lines in a powerful but controlled
fashion, and the listener is soon aware he is in for a veritable treat.

Stylistically the music falls somewhere between the first Balance Of Power
album, only harder with far superior vocals and the latest Fair Warning offering
4 , but with a few Thin Lizzy and Styx influences thrown in for good measure.
This is not to say Mantis are simply copycats , because in fact, they are anything
but. The music on offer is original, powerful and played with a great deal of
conviction. Get a listen to the pompish splendour of Cruel Winter, the ripping
guitar work of Stratton on the self penned Future of the World , or marvel at
the beautiful ballad Whenever I’m Lost. The album closer SOS starts off with
a twin guitar riff that wouldn’t be out of place on either a Lizzy or Maiden
album before some crafty keyboard work carries us through the chorus on which
the backing vocal’s are massive. Indeed the backing vocals throughout the entire
album are superb, they are so good in fact it should be compulsive for all aspiring
new bands to listen to them before attempting their own. I could go on, but
by now you should have the picture , this is a thoroughly excellent album throughout
and no self respecting fan of decent hard rock music should be without this
in his or her collection. Production is handled by Tino Troy and Steve Mann
(he of Liar fame I wonder??) and is absolutely HUGE! With material like this,
how Praying Mantis have never broken the UK market remains a mystery, while
in Japan they are worshipped from on high. Once again our Japanese friends show
us they know a good thing when they see it, however European readers will soon
have the opportunity to pick up this release at standard prices as Now and Then/Frontiers
will Issue the CD in September. This is one of the albums of the year without
doubt, go on treat yourself …….. Kieran Dargan

AOR/HARD ROCK ALBUM OF 2000:Praying Mantis – Nowhere to Hide. This one flew out of left field and
smacked me in the head…HARD. Originally classified as NWOBHM,
this band has been around since 1981. This album is nothing but
pure AOR hooks and harmonies. It is absolutely phenomenal.
The *only* negative to this disc is that the production quality
is not what it could be given the technology available today.
I have never personally rated an album 100/100. If the production
work were better on this album it *would* be 100/100. Even so,
the music is so incredible I give it 97/100 (to give you an idea
of how high a rating that is for me, I have in excess of 3,400
CDs in my collection; perhaps 20 I rate as 95 or better). Yes,
this disc is *THAT* good. Take Wetton-era Asia harmonies and apply
them to pure traditional AOR melodies. Add a nice epic feel with
heavy keys, and you’re there.

A truly stunning album
This is a truly stunning piece of work. The overall quality of the songs, together with some wonderful guitar and vocal work really make for a great album. What we have here is a band that contains some very fine and experienced musicians who have put together a collection of songs that create a really classic album. For anyone that followed Praying Mantis in the early 1980’s Nowhere to Hide is an absolute “must buy”. For those of you that have not heard anything by this band, you could do a whole lot worse than to start by listening to this album.

Praying Mantis appeared with the rise of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the early 80s and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. This album is their best to date. The mix of lead and harmony guitar breaks and solos with great vocals and keyboards is fantastic. If you like bands like Ten you’ll love this. There are no fillers or duds, just 10 great flowing songs with exciting instrumentation and intelligent meaningful lyrics.

February
3rd 2001:
“Nowhere to hide” is now available, so at last I can review the album. First, this cd belongs in all melodic rock collections.
Live appearances by Praying Mantis are quite rare, and the writer of
these lines was very happy, when he was able to admire Praying Mantis
at the Wacken-Open-Air last year. I was looking forward to it for weeks,
and then I met the band before its appearance. It was already a great day and then in the evening the live performance. Only 45 minutes, but only one word is necessary to describe the performance,
Unbelievable!

Now however to “Nowhere to hide”. The Vocals of Tony O’Hora are outstanding
he gives a really powerful performance. The songs are great and the band clearly enjoy of their music … Praying Mantis are better
than ever before. “Nowhere to hide ” with “Can’t
stop the fire” and “Future of the world” offers two genuine killer songs, the other
tracks are also melodic jewels. This is a quite successful cross section of all
variants of melodic rock. One can hear this cd just as well in the car, as
in the “romantic hours with two persons”. “Nowhere to hide” is simply timeless
and offers first-class songs with a perfect, powerful production. For those,
who haven’t heard anything by Praying Mantis, this is a perfect starter.
After buying this the doors will open for the other Praying Mantis cd’s.

PRAYING MANTIS – NOWHERE TO HIDE (A) Now & Then/Frontiers, 200010 tracks,
RT: 60:27
[ http://www.nowandthen.co.uk ][ http://www.frontiers.it ][ info@frontiers.it ]
This arrived with a ton of other Now & Then/Frontiers releases and, for
whatever reason, I put it at the bottom of the “listen to” pile. Mistake.
This thing kicks big ass and I’m still surprised at how much I like it. Praying
Mantis has been around in one form or another for decades, and I just never
really heard them. Some big names (Gary Barden, Paul Di’Anno) have come and
gone, and ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton has now been with them
for 10 years. This is their second consecutive album with a stable lineup.
(As an aside, I find it odd they’re considered a NWOBHM band when they only
released one album and a few singles during the ’80s!) Can we call this “power
AOR?” It’s more dynamic and exciting than garden-variety AOR, but it’s just
a hair shy (and sweet) to be called metal. Stratton and Tino Troy lay down
slick, pro-quality guitar work everywhere, and Chris Troy’s ultra-grooving
bass lines are phenomenal. Why haven’t I heard of this guy before??? He smokes!
Vocalist Tony O’Hora is crisp, clear, and clean, and he’s a perfect match
for this Hardline-meets-Magnum sound. I guess another way to describe the
kinda pompy goings-on would be “a less overblown Ten.” Make any sense yet???
No? Then just go with the “power AOR” tag. Yes, the songs average out to 6:00
each, so these definitely aren’t 3:30 summertime fluff songs, but they’re
hooky, rockin’, and full of *monumental* layered choruses just the same. Stratton’s
unashamedly uplifting “Future Of The World” is an absolute monster, and “Cruel
Winter,” the title track, and “S.O.S.” are other standouts. Also of particular
importance is the bonus track on the North American and European versions,
Tino Troy’s “Naked.” It’s a moving tribute to his late daughter–and the amazing
thing is, despite the circumstances surrounding the song’s genesis, it still
manages to get you moving in a positive way. To put it simply, this is a great
album. – Tim

On the Frontiers label, Praying Mantis first surfaced back in the late ’70s, and has since gone through various lineup and name changes– and has at different times
included several members of Iron Maiden, believe it or not.
The band now specializes in vocal melodies and light hard rock. Early Ten is brought to mind, as well as some of the vocal work of Jon Bon
Jovi.“Future of the World” is a heavier cut with a rolling chorus, and both “Can’t Stop the World” and “Naked” are good.“Cruel Winter” has a strong chorus, and
“S.O.S.” makes its mark at album’s end.

I can’t believe these guys are still releasing albums! 19 years after their debut “Time Tells No Lies”, the Troy brothers Tino (guitars, keyboards) and Chris (bass, keyboards) are releasing “Nowhere To Hide”, their sixth studio album. Throughout the years, Praying Mantis had countless singers (Steve Carroll, Paul Di’Anno – ex-Iron Maiden, Gary Barden – ex-MSG, Mark Thompson-Smith), this time it’s Tony O’Hara (he also sang on the last album “Forever In Time”). He has a clean AOR voice and does a great job on “Nowhere To Hide”. Bruce Bisland (drums) and Dennis Stratton (guitar, another ex-Iron Maiden member) are completing the band. “Nowhere To Hide” contains ten great AOR songs produced by ex-MSG guitar player Steve Mann. Most of the tracks are midtempo to uptemto, have huge melodies and great guitar lines (for example “Can’t Stop The Fire” and “Future Of The World” or the title track). “Whenever I’m Lost” is a very soft ballad with a bombastic chorus. Sometimes the backing vocals are too sweet, like on “You’ll Never Know”. So the song sounds a bit powerless. It’s strange that the bonus track “Naked” is the heaviest track on the album – and also one of the best! The album ends with “SOS”, another fast track with great harmonies. Melodic rock at its best.

It seems amazing to think that a band whose memory is still accorded such
respect for their excellent ‘Time Tells No Lies’ album actually released it
some 20 years ago. But since they reformed in 1990, Praying Mantis have
been hard at work releasing a string of albums, though mostly in Japan.

‘Nowhere To Hide’ is their second album to feature vocalist Tony
O’Hora, once briefly of Onslaught and, if memory serves me well, Runaway
Stray too, and now with a settled line-up their finely tuned melodic rock
has once more hit heights similar to that of their 1981 debut.

Although ‘Nowhere To Hide’ doesn’t exactly break new ground, any
old Mantis fans will revel in its solidly pleasing wall of rhythmic guitars
and lush keyboards, which still evoke memories of the band during their
NWOBHM hey day. It may be a far cry from today’s numetal strain, and,
sadly, even hardly likely to attract much attention, but it’s a class hand
from a band who prove they can still cut it.

Frontiers Records has made a name for itself with releases of excellent traditional hard rock in a time where such music is hardly the prevailing force in commercial music. Praying Mantis performs unabashed 1980s-style hard rock, with melodically uplifting guitar and keyboard themes, harmony chorus vocals, and propulsive beats.

Much like the new release from Jorn (see above) on the same label, Nowhere To Hide opens with an upbeat title track, complete with all the qualities listed above. Keyboardist Tino Troy does a good job of making his contributions heard in the arrangements, while singer Tony O’Hora evokes all the stylings of 1980s metal/ hard-rock singers without sounding overly cliched.

Not overly original or different, Praying Mantis should still be commended for writing and performing traditional hard rock without compromises. – Bill Knispel

Not long since the predecessor “Forever in Time” has finally been released in Europe, it is followed by the millenium work of the melodic English crew and is regularly available in German CD stores. The style is similar to the lunacy of the precursor but the guitar solos can’t fit to hold a candle to this one, I think.

The song material is not far away of it, though. The opener and the title song can write “AOR classic” on their flags, “Cruel Winter” is a song that creeps with fantastic keyboards slowly into your ears…! “The Clocktower” is pure philosophy: “Time hides the answers, time holds the truth, time is the enemy hidden from your youth; hode answers from my memories, part me from my soul, but the pendulum of life will carry on” – just the right thing for me!
Guitar parts with Spanish flair with a soft singing and huge choirs like in “Whenever I’m Lost” are the points that make this album definitely better than the latest PRETTY MAIDS, although the Danish are walking the same
soil with “Carpe Diem”.

Tony O’Hora is a fantastic frontman who fits better into this kind of music than a Ronnie Atkins. Well, that is at least my opinion. So there is just one question left: why do PRAYING MANTIS sound live like a modern NWoBHM band and on studio albums they spread the feeling of a slim version of their past? Strange, but a fact.

Still continuing to release great melodic hard rock into the 21st Century are UK’s favorite sons Praying Mantis. One of the earliest progenies of the NWOBHM back in that era of Iron Maiden , Def Leppard , Saxon etc, Praying Mantis have been through up’s and down’s, on’s and off’s before settling into a rhythm of consistency during the nineties, fuelled by legendary support from it’s huge army of fans, mainly in Japan.

They’ve released some wonderful stuff of late, such as ‘A Cry For The New World’, ‘Predator’ and ‘To The Power Of Ten’. Then there was the powerful ‘Forever In Time’. However, I’d suggest that with this effort ‘Nowhere In Time’ that they’ve topped all before them. Kudos to Frontiers for getting these boys signed, as mostly we’d have to get their albums on hard to get Japanese releases. Musically, they continue the same pattern as on their previous efforts, but the concoction of melody and twin barrelled guitar attack hasn’t been heard since, well .. the last Praying Mantis album! No, seriously, the likes of UFO , early Iron Maiden or even Ten don’t even get a look in.

Tony O’Hora’s vocals are inspired, sounding like Max Bacon at times, the combined work of Stratton and Tino Troy is seamless while the rhythm section just keeps on keeping on. The title track ‘Nowhere To Hide’ is an orchestrated melodic affair, with guitars and keyboard layers combining with deep vocal harmonies. This extends into the brilliant ‘Cruel Winter’. ‘I Can’t Stop The Fire’ has an anthemic chorus, before moving into the superb ‘Future Of The World’. ‘Naked’ which is a bonus track on this CD version also rocks along with a strident purpose, not before Bruce Bisland’s drums kick on the double beat with ‘S.O.S’. Elsewhere, the material is strong, consistent, and catchy.

There is some great stuff happening on here, and despite their age, Praying Mantis just seem to be getting better and better. Like a fine aged wine. Perhaps we in the Western World are finally cottoning on to what the Japanese have known for years.

This is the only Praying Mantis album I own since I’ve only recently discovered the band. But “Nowhere to Hide” certainly made an impact with it’s beautiful melodic vocals and enchanting guitar & bass harmonies.

It’s a combination of Europe, Queen and The Scorpians only with more thoughful lyrics and sincerity in tone. I normally indugle in more dark metal bands such as Korn or Blaze but I’m not ashamed to admit a fondness to the softer and elegantly formed Mantis tunes. Especailly Stratton moving piece “Whenever I’m Lost”.

I have great admiration for Mantis, they don’t try to shock or show off. They skillfully play well crafted tunes and don’t attempt to be anything else than un-pretenious great muscians whose music is a delight to the ear. The album is a little jewel of joy amoungst my moody album collection and a great source for maintaining sanity.

I’ve played this album to hard & soft rock fans and both where impressed. Nowhere To Hide is an album I’d recommend to anyone who has ears. I wish they got greater recognition in Britian or I’d certainly have has many more of their album by now.

i simply hate when japanese versions have more tracks than the one i have 🙁
there are some records in which the bonus tracks are not only bonus but really the best song of the whole record, so it is indispensable getting the japanese version. in this case, tables are turned.
naked is one of the best songs praying mantis ever recorded, and the version in this european release is the best. emotinal, powerful, touches your feelings deep inside. it is difficult to express in words what this song is able to show…
few songs have the hability to let your feelings show so much … straight from the heart. this only song could make the record worth enough, but fortunately there are still 9 more tracks 😀
nowhere to hide deserves also its place on the best songs of the record. strong and powerful.
whenever i’m lost is the ballad, and it is quite nice. cruel winter, clocktower, can’t stop the fire, future of the world … strong songs, melodic, the songs you can expect from praying mantis, high above from average, of course ;-), if not i would be very disappointed.
for me this record is not as impressive as forever in time, but a good follow up. tony sings brilliantly and compositions are praying mantis signature (stratton/troy/troy). enough said!